Did you ever have one of those days or series of days, or even weeks when you are not motivated to write? I am talking to you—writer, scribbler, journalist, blogger, term-paper writer and editor. I can push through it most times and once I am rolling, there is no stopping me. Sometimes I write so fast that I have to go back and re-write something so that it has a clearer presentation to the reader. But, there are days when I am not motivated to write at all. I try to do some everyday and the goal is anywhere from 500-2000 words or so. If I can land in that area, I am satisfied. Anything below is disappointing, but sometimes unavoidable if I have other pressing business. Anything above that mark is considered a good day. 
I think that every writer hits the wall and the best thing is to step away, clear the head and do something else for at least a few hours. Usually removing yourself form the environment is best, so taking a walk, watching a bit of mindless TV or maybe spending some time with those people you live with (yes, your family) can be just what we need. Even reading a bit sometimes motivates me to get back to the computer and start anew. But, what if you don’t have the time to walk away? A deep breath, a quick count to ten and maybe a refresh of your beverage is going to have to do. I would try to avoid this as much as possible, but sometimes we cannot.
What are some tricks or ideas that some of you kind folks out there in cyberspacehave that might get our struggling writer back into the proper frame of mind to continue their plot, story, article or term paper?
Please share your thoughts. As always, I look forward to your comments!
See you in Wothlondia! Cheers!
Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!
Photos from Stock.xchng.
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted
Please visit MY HOME PAGE to enjoy an extended reading experience, see direct links to purchase Covenant of the Faceless Knights and to see what else Ashenclaw Studios, LLC has in store in the future!
Photos from Stock.xchng.
All maps, names and content copyright Ashenclaw Studios, LLC 2011 unless otherwise noted
Music has always helped me. I collect and make mixes that remind me of what I am writing and listen to that. Train gets back on track and leaves the station.
ReplyDeleteMusic is great. I have a 'inspiration' playlist for bad days.
DeleteLuckily the only things I write about are from my own experiences gaming for the most part. If I need something to blog about I simply get a game or two in.
ReplyDeleteBy the way I finished reading what you sent me. I will email you my take on it tomorrow. I did like it thought bud!
Thanks for sharing, Chad! We all need to write about something, eh? Writing stretches the imagination and intellect and is another artistic expression I say! Keep at it. I am looking forward to hearing from you about the sample I sent you, too. Take care and hope you had a good holiday.
ReplyDeleteWhen my brain seizes up I head off round our farm to find something physical to do - never a shortage of those! Talking it over with the llamas helps too. OK, they never have any helpful suggestions, but at least they listen.
ReplyDeleteI often have those moments or weeks when great ideas seem to run away from me and I just don't have the motivation. Oddly enough, one of the things that seems to help the most is changing the medium I am using to write. When writing in a word processor was getting boring, I downloaded a writing program call ZenWriter. It helped me write for months. When that got too mundane I switched to paper. A new fountain pen, a new colored ink.. all have inspired me to keep on writing. Now I have enough different ways to get the words out that I just need to cycle through my different methods. (Though I still want to get the waterproof paper/pen for writing in the shower...)
ReplyDeleteHope my ideas help! :)
It was never one of my solutions, but I think I'm going to like this ZenWriter anyway..what a cool medium! Writer's Block aside this is a fun discovery, thanks!
DeleteSteph, funny you should mention, but talking things out loud has an amazing effect on your thinking, etc. Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Please sign up to follow the blog if you haven't done so already and I look forward to hearing more of your comments in the future!
ReplyDeleteBeth, first off, thanks so much for stopping by and sharing your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteYour variations are simply your own ways of giving yourself a change, but instead of removing yourself from the environment, you are moving your environment around. Moving your instruments around and replacing them with ones that may stimulate you is a different way of looking at it. There is certainly no right (or is it: write?) or wrong way to do this, so whatever tricks you have to share, keep 'em coming.
A pen for writing in the shower would be a phenomenal project, if you could work on that one! How about one to track your thoughts when you are driving or even when you are fading in and out of sleep?
Ok...maybe I am getting off-track. I have thought about getting a recording device for the car and other places, but have not done so yet. Again, thanks much for stopping by and commenting and feel free to join my small family of peers and friends and I look forward to reading more of your thoughts in the future! Take care!
Following similar lines as most, I try to take a walk. But like you mention, sometimes that just isn't possible. In those instances, I find that I can push through writer's block if I tell myself this: "Look, you're not writing anything right now anyway. Just write something. It doesn't even have to be based on what your trying to finish. What you end up with might be 90% garbage. But at least you have 10% more than what you would have if you didn't write all that garbage". Most of my writer's block is a momentum problem. This trick seems to work well for me.
ReplyDeleteRJ, thanks for stopping in and sharing some thoughts! You bring up a good point that even if forced out, there might be a diamond in the rough, right? I think that the hardest thing about that is that you would have to go in and edit out all of the material to discard. But, that may leave you with something profound after all. Sometimes I do my best writing when I start 'not in the mood' and suddenly the words start flowing. Thanks again for sharing and feel free to join the peers and authors that share thoughts here on the blog!
ReplyDeleteLol! I can relate to this so much, in other cases I'm just like "I don't want to do this"..:P
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by, Jason! I feel your pain, my friend. I hope that whatever happens, nothing steals the fire for you to keep on writing. Good luck pushing through! Look forward to you stopping by again and sharing more comments.
ReplyDeleteThis happens to every writer. For me there was a thick heavy immovable block for many years with only bits and pieces and chips off it...but writing and more writing and a new style called 'small stones' has made the block move ...tea, a walk, knitting, drawing, art work...I haven't mentioned ..yes music...
ReplyDeleteAnjum, thanks again for the comment. I have looked into the small stones thing and it seems like a good idea for some. As long as it works, right? Taking a break where you go and do something else seems to be the best way to clear your head.
ReplyDeleteI think a good routine, writing a little every day as other have mentioned, and a good place to do the writing all help. I know sometimes I need a change in scenery, so I'll take the laptop an go to a coffee shop where there is a lot of people and commotion, for me it's like a reset button...or is that the double shot espresso?
ReplyDeleteHey, Marc! Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I think you are spot-on with your idea. A change of scenery goes a long way in the mind of a creative person. It may be the caffeine, though! Thanks for commenting and I appreciate the follow! Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I find meditating or taking a nap refreshes my mind and I find myself just bursting with ideas.
ReplyDeleteHi, Kathleen and thanks for stopping over! There really is nothing like a rested mind. I do my best work in the morning for the most part where my mind is fresh and brimming with potential! Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteI believe the problem isn't that it is a block of creativity, but that you are starting from the wrong point. Many writers cling to a way things have to be and what needs to happen to express themselves, yet when they are faced with the daunting task of pulling it off, it never happens.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I am not saying there isn't some credence to distraction or stress, that depends on the person. However, if you start in the middle, often times you'll find that was your beginning all along.
Good article, great conversational points to it. Thanks for sharing this with us.
If I am working on a piece that involves characters sometimes I will work on their profiles. What food they hate or what clothes they wouldn't get caught dead wearing. It helps me reset my brain in a way.
ReplyDeleteIf that doesn't work, I'll go and talk to my teenage daughter. Somehow she always gets me back on track. :)
Leif, thanks for the comments! Interesting point of view. I think that writer's tend to come up with an idea and expand on it, right? If that is the case, sometimes there is no real jumping off point, merely what you think could be the start and the end. As you are saying, and if I am hearing you right, some writers need to write uniformly and they should let themselves go a bit to explore where an idea might take them. Sometimes I write something, look back on it and go: 'wow, that is not my usual line of thinking' and i am surprised at what came out. Great thoughts and thanks for sharing! Feel free to stop back anytime!
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, thanks for stopping and sharing! Feel free to join the site and give us a name to attach to the comments, too. :)
ReplyDeleteWriting about things you can relate to often will push you through the writer's block enough to get you moving. If I need a point of view shift, I sometimes think of those kinds of details, which may inspire your line of thinking enough to continue writing, especially if you have a deadline! Thanks for stopping by and have a great holiday!
I call them stumbles :-) But music helps if that is what inspired me to begin with, or pictures of people, tv shows, movies, etc. if they are what my characters are based on by looks, personalities, etc. But most of the time if I get to a place and feel I don't know what or where I want to go with the story, I usually have a scene in my head that I can skip to and then come back to my stumble.
ReplyDeleteHi, kkrafts and thanks again for stopping by! You bring up a good point and one that i am sure we all have experienced. Just recently, I was at a stumbling block creatively and decided to skip the chapter in the outline and go back to it when the mood struck...and it did a day or so later! So, I get that and yes, they are really only stumbles, aren't they? Thanks for the comments and have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy listening to music to restore my creative juices. If I am writing a paper for school or completing a project for my writing business, I will tune in to jazz to help me relax, complete my research and push forward. If I am wearing my author hat role, it depends on the mood of the story. I will have to review the content that I have written thus far, the mood of the moment and gather my thoughts on where I am heading. Then I select my music choice based on that, (e.g., R&B, hip-hop, country, gospel, classical, etc.) A good music selection usually helps improve my focus and puts me right where I need to be.
ReplyDeleteC. Michelle, thanks for stopping by to comment! I think you might have something there. Music is the backdrop of life, so why not listen to something that will move you emotionally and give you that nudge that will help your writing. Excellent suggestion! I look forward to more comments in the future. All the best.
ReplyDeleteWriter's Block may feel real but its not.
ReplyDeleteMany people say they want to write a book but most make it to chapter three and then decide it's too hard to finish. And when I say most I mean 98% of them. So you think you are part of the two percent who can make it to the end of the novel and at least say you finished. But halfway there you discover you can't figure out how to keep going. Your get up and go has got up and left.
You say you have writer's block. You say you can't find your muse. You are having trouble producing material and its gone on for weeks. Well it's time for some tough love. Writer's block does not exist. Like the mythical phoenix or magical unicorn, its existence is only in the mind. Its power can appear real to new writers but once you know the truth, you will never be bothered by it again...
http://www.protagonize.com/story/writers-block-get-over-it
Water has always been an element that sparks my imagination and creativity. Whether it is a bath, a swim, or an extra long shower...nearly everytime I spend time in water I get some kind of idea. THE TRICK IS AFTERWARDS...WRITE WHETHER ITS GOOD OR NOT. Once you start writing...if you keep at it, there will eventually be something worth using. My second novel I got to use about five snippets of previously written pieces in my book. :)
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Michala
www.bitemybook.com
I find that taking a walk or getting out of the house often works from me. For some reason, ideas tend to flow better when I'm in motion.
ReplyDeleteHow about some science? They've proven that doing other, but still creative, activities creates new neural connections in your brain and PERMANENTLY enhances your overall activity. Doodle, paint, play an instrument. Even if you're not good at it, the mere act of practicing will create connections that writing alone would never make.
ReplyDeleteI'm experiencing major writers block. I had a final paper due yesterday at 8pm, only 7-10 pages, on books I've read over the semester and I just cannot write anything. It all sounds stupid and dumb. In my head I have ideas and think about what I'm going to write but most of my thoughts, where the meat is supposed to be, only I hear is blah, blah blah. This sucks.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous, keep at it. Distract yourself for a few moments, focus on one sentence at a time, and eventually, you will have something substantial.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I play the same song over and over again until I have 1000 words. It irritates me into writing.
ReplyDelete